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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “fixed menu”

wp.org orders by popularity, so a plugin a host bundled onto millions of sites, or a big-brand one that's slow and mediocre, can sit at the top. Our ranking is built to answer a different question: which of these is actually worth installing. How this works →

For “fixed menu”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 of the top 20. 1 plugin is pushed down for signals wp.org ignores: errors, a host-installed base, or removal risk.

wp.org search ranks on

Install count (uncapped), the raw star average, freshness, and support. Popularity dominates, so the biggest install base usually wins regardless of how it got there.

We add

A cap on the install boost, volume-weighted ratings, and signals wp.org can't see: whether it throws errors on current PHP, whether the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

Fixed And Sticky Header shows at wp.org #11 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.3★ average from 7 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WP Menu Icons places #8 on merit, 4.9★ from 139 reviews, but shows at wp.org #12. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Admin Menu Editor 300K+ · 4.6★ (312) wp.org #2 ↑2 1 too low 2 Sticky Menu & Sticky Header 90K+ · 4.7★ (763) wp.org #3 ↓1 1 too low 3 Fixed Bottom Menu 4K+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #1 2 too high 4 Max Mega Menu 300K+ · 4.8★ (882) wp.org #4 ↓1 5 Menu Icons by Themeisle – Add Icons to Navigation Menus 100K+ · 4.9★ (851) wp.org #5 ↑1 6 Responsive Menu – Mobile Menu & Hamburger Menu Builder 70K+ · 4.5★ (574) wp.org #6 ↓1 7 WP Mobile Menu – The Mobile-Friendly Responsive Menu 70K+ · 4.7★ (256) wp.org #7 8 WP Menu Icons 20K+ · 4.9★ (139) wp.org #12 ↑1 4 too low 9 WP Responsive Menu 30K+ · 4.3★ (100) wp.org #9 ↑1 10 Menu Cart for WooCommerce 70K+ · 4.6★ (99) wp.org #14 ↓5 4 too low 11 Float menu – awesome floating side menu 30K+ · 4.4★ (41) wp.org #10 ↑1 1 too high 12 Login or Logout Menu Item 20K+ · 4.8★ (23) wp.org #13 ↑1 1 too low 13 D Duplicate Menu 100K+ · 4.6★ (104) wp.org #20 ↓2 7 too low 14 Iks Menu – WordPress Category Accordion Menu & FAQs 10K+ · 5.0★ (27) wp.org #16 2 too low 15 Simple Floating Menu 10K+ · 5.0★ (38) wp.org #19 ↑1 4 too low 16 Side Menu Lite – Sticky Floating Side Menu 7K+ · 4.0★ (12) wp.org #8 8 too high 17 Admin Menu Tree Page View 10K+ · 4.6★ (48) wp.org #24 7 too low 18 WP Bottom Menu 20K+ · 4.5★ (23) wp.org #17 1 too high 19 Advanced Sidebar Menu 10K+ · 4.5★ (37) wp.org #21 2 too low 20 M Menu Duplicator 10K+ · 4.7★ (13) wp.org #15 5 too high 21 Catch Sticky Menu 2K+ · 5.0★ (15) wp.org #18 ↑1 3 too high 22 WP Menu Cart 8K+ · 4.8★ (23) wp.org #22 ↑1 23 SlickNav Mobile Menu 3K+ · 4.8★ (24) wp.org #23 ↓1 24 Fixed And Sticky Header 1K+ · 3.3★ (7) wp.org #11 ↑1 13 too high

Merit ranking caps the install boost at 1M (wp.org leaves it uncapped), replaces the raw star average with a volume-weighted Bayesian score and a Wilson lower bound, and keeps wp.org's own freshness and compatibility decays. Method from the plugin-directory source; see Meta Trac #8298. Positions are tracked daily from the first visit to a keyword, so the small arrows show movement since tracking began.